High toughness sintered bodies

ABSTRACT

A high toughness sintered body is described, consisting essentially of from 40 to 99.5% by weight of Component A, and 0.5 to 60% by weight of Component B, wherein the mean grain size of the sintered body is 3 microns or less, and Components A and B are as follows: 
     Component A: ZrO 2  containing a stabilizer, such as Y 2  O 3 , CaO, and MgO, in which the fraction of the tetragonal and cubic ZrO 2  constitutes at least 90% by weight, and the ratio of the tetragonal ZrO 2  to the cubic ZrO 2  is at least 1/3; and 
     Component B: at least one of Al 2  O 3  and TiN, with impurities being 3% by weight or less of SiO 2 , 0.5% by weight or less of Fe 2  O 3 , and 0.5% by weight or less of TiO 2 , provided that the total amount is 3% by weight or less.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 408,086, filed Aug. 13, 1985, now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to high toughness sintered bodies comprising at least one of ZrO₂ and HfO₂, at least one of Al₂ O₃ and TiN, etc.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Production of ceramic materials having improved flexural strength has been the subject of research by many investigators, because poor flexural strength is a most serious disadvantage of ceramic materials, and if ceramic materials having improved flexural strength can be developed, they can be effectively used in the fabrication of cutting tools, as synthetic bone materials, as parts for internal combustion engines, and so forth.

For example, Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 140762/80 (the term "OPI" as used herein refers to a "published unexamined Japanese patent application") discloses "zirconia-base cutting tool materials" comprising ZrO₂ partially stabilized with oxides of Y, Ca, Mg, etc., in which the total fraction of tetragonal and cubic ZrO₂ is from 60 to 95% by weight. J. S. Reed et al., Ceramic Bulletin, Vol. 55, page 717 (1976) describes that high strength ZrO₂ sintered bodies can be obtained by sintering fine powdered ZrO₂ which is prepared by co-precipitating a mixture of ZrOCl₂ and YCl₃, calcining the thus-formed powder, and stabilizing with Y₂ O₃.

These ceramic materials, however, are not completely satisfactory in strength, and it has, therefore, been desired to further increase the strength, because it is expected that such improved ceramic materials would have a wider variety of uses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As a result of extensive investigations to further increase the strength of such ceramic materials, it has been found that when Al₂ O₃, TiN, or a combination thereof is added to form a solid solution in combination with ZrO₂ ("ZrO₂ " as used herein generally is intended also to refer to ZrO₂ wherein HfO₂ is substituted in part or in whole therefor) or is dispersed in ZrO₂, the transformation temperature of ZrO₂ between the tetragonal ZrO₂ and the monoclinic ZrO₂ is lowered and grain growth of ZrO₂ is prevented, which increases the fraction of tetragonal ZrO₂, the sliding resistance among ZrO₂ grains in the grain boundaries, and hardness, and, furthermore, increases the high temperature (up to 1200° C.) strength to as high as about 2 times the strength of ZrO₂ alone.

The present invention, therefore, relates to a high toughness sintered body consisting essentially of from 40 to 99.5% by weight Component A and from 0.5 to 60% by weight Component B, wherein the mean grain size of the sintered body is 3 microns or less, wherein:

Component A is partially stabilized ZrO₂ (containing, e.g., a stabilizer such as Y₂ O₃, CaO and MgO) in which the fraction of the tetragonal and cubic ZrO₂ are at least 90% by weight, and the ratio of the tetragonal ZrO₂ to the cubic ZrO₂ is at least 1/3; and

Component B is at least one of Al₂ O₃ and TiN, with impurities being 3% by weight or less SiO₂, 0.5% by weight or less Fe₂ O₃, and 0.5% by weight or less TiO₂, provided that the total amount of impurities is 3% by weight or less (based on the total weight).

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it has been found that when a co-precipitation method is employed to prepare a raw material consisting essentially of the components of ZrO₂ (and/or HfO₂), stabilizer, and Al₂ O₃ (and/or TiN) the resulting raw materials are dispersed more ideally, and by using the resulting raw materials, a sintered boby can be obtained which has a uniform structure comprising fine grains, contains almost no micropores, and which has a strength as high as about 150 kg/mm² that could not be expected from conventional ceramic materials.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the high temperature strength of sintered bodies described in Example 1 and of a comparative specimen (No. R), i.e., commercially available partially stabilized zirconia sintered body manufactured by Corning Corp.

FIG. 2 shows the high temperature strength of sintered bodies described in Example 2.

FIG. 3 shows the high temperature strength of sintered bodies described in Example 3 and of the above-described comparative specimen (No. R).

FIG. 4 shows the high temperature strength of sintered bodies described in Example 4.

FIG. 5 shows the high temperature strength of sintered bodies described in Example 5 and of the above-described comparative specimen (No. R).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the high toughness sintered body of the invention, if the Al₂ O₃ or TiN content is less than 0.5% by weight, the effect of the addition of Al₂ O₃ or TiN is poor respectively, whereas if it is more than 60% by weight, ZrO₂ content is too low to give effect of strengthening and toughening due to ZrO₂ phase transformation.

Furthermore, the total fraction of the tetragonal ZrO₂ and the cubic ZrO₂ in the ZrO₂ should be at least 90% by weight thereof. When the fraction is less than 90% by weight, the toughness of the resulting sintered body is poor. It is also necessary that the ratio of the tetragonal ZrO₂ to the cubic ZrO₂ be at least 1/3. If the ratio is less than 1/3, the resulting sintered body has poor toughness. It is further required for the mean grain size of the sintered body to be 3 microns or less. If the mean grain size is more than 3 microns, the transformation from the tetragonal ZrO₂ to the monoclinic ZrO₂ will occur, resulting in a reduction in toughness.

The tolerable amounts of impurities are up to 3% by weight in the case of SiO₂ and up to 0.5% by weight each in the case of Fe₂ O₃ and TiO₂, provided that the total amount of such impurities is 3% by weight or less. If the amount of each impurity or the total amount of impurities is more than the above-specified values, sintering properties are reduced, and only a sintered body having poor toughness can be obtained.

The same characteristics as above can also be obtained when part or all of the ZrO₂ is replaced by HfO₂.

The following examples are given to illustrate the invention in greater detail.

EXAMPLE 1

To a monoclinic ZrO₂ having the characteristics shown in Table 1 were added Y₂ O₃, CaO, or MgO as a stabilizer in the proportions shown in Table 2, and then fine particles of Al₂ O₃ having a mean particle size of 0.1 micron and a purity of 99.9% were added in proportions as shown in Table 2. The ingredients were then wet-mixed, and the resulting mixture was dried, powdered, press-molded, and sintered in an electric furnace in the air at 1,400° to 1,650° C. for 1 hour. After sintering, the thus-obtained sintered body was cut and ground to form a specimen of 4×8×25 mm. In this way, a series of specimens were produced. The phase composition and properties obtained from these specimens are shown in Table 2. In all the specimens, the mean grain size was less than 3 microns. When the sintering temperature was increased to higher temperatures than those shown in Table 2, the mean grain size was larger than 3 microns, and the strength was reduced.

As is shown clearly from Table 2, the addition of Al₂ O₃ inhibits the transformation from the tetragonal ZrO₂ to the monoclinic ZrO₂ and increases the fraction of the tetragonal ZrO₂, improving the strength and toughness of the resulting sintered body. The hardness and high temperature flexural strength of some specimens were also measured. The results are shown in Table 3 and FIG. 1. It can be seen from the results that the hardness of the sintered body increased with increasing Al₂ O₃ content, for example, the hardness of specimen No. 33 with 60% Al₂ O₃ content was almost equal to that of Al₂ O₃ ceramics, and that the high temperature strength is markedly improved compared with the comparative partially stabilized zirconia sintered body which is commercially available from Corning Corp., U.S.A. (Specimen No. R).

                  TABLE 1                                                          ______________________________________                                         Crystal System     Monoclinic                                                  Specific Surface Area                                                                             25 m.sup.2 /g                                               Chemical Analytical Values                                                     ZrO.sub.2 (incl. HfO.sub.2)                                                                       99% or more (containing                                                        3 to 5% HfO.sub.2)                                          SiO.sub.2          0.5%                                                        CaO                0.06%                                                       Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3   0.1%                                                        TiO.sub.2          0.25%                                                       ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 2                                      __________________________________________________________________________     Composition                                                                              Stabilizer                       Crystal System of ZrO.sub.2                   for ZrO.sub.2                                                                          Sintering    Flexural    Mono-                                                                              Tetra-                          Specimen                                                                             Al.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                      Amount                                                                              Temperature                                                                           Density                                                                              Strength                                                                             K.sub.IC                                                                             clinic                                                                             gonal                                                                              Cubic                       No.   (wt %)                                                                             Type                                                                              (mol %)                                                                             (°C.)                                                                          (g/cm.sup.3)                                                                         (kg/mm.sup.2)                                                                        (kg/mm.sup.3/2)                                                                      (wt %)                                                                             (wt %)                                                                             (wt %)                                                                             Remarks                 __________________________________________________________________________      1    0.1 Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   4    1,600  5.72  35.1  9.3   24  41  35  Comparison               2    0.5 "  "    "      5.80  70.5  21.0  9   58  33  Present                                                                        Invention                3    1.5 "  "    "      5.83  72.4  22.5  4   64  32  Present                                                                        Invention                4     3  "  1    1,500  *     --    --    95   0   5  Comparison               5    "   "    1.5                                                                               1,400  5.76  35.7  18.0  43  49   8  Comparison               6    "   "  2    1,500  5.97  95.9  44.9  5   83  12  Present                                                                        Invention                7    "   "    2.5                                                                               "      5.95  91.7  37.8  4   77  19  Present                                                                        Invention                8    "   "  3    1,600  5.94  82.3  30.2  3   73  24  Present                                                                        Invention                9    "   "  4    "      5.88  84.1  23.8  1   67  32  Present                                                                        Invention               10    "   "  6    "      5.75  44.6  15.0  0   28  72  Present                                                                        Invention               11    "   "  8    "      5.67  31.2  13.0  0    0  100 Comparison              12    "   MgO                                                                               7    1,500  5.75  70.0  21.0  3   61  36  Present                                                                        Invention               13    "   CaO                                                                               6    "      5.78  65.0  19.0  4   55  41  Present                                                                        Invention               14    10  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   1    1,500  *     --    --    96   0   4  Comparison              15    "   "  2    "      5.71  99.4  38.8  4   85  11  Present                                                                        Invention               16    "   "  3    "      5.69  87.2  32.5  2   76  22  Present                                                                        Invention               17    "   "  4    "      5.64  85.3  30.0  1   70  29  Present                                                                        Invention               18    "   MgO                                                                               7    "      5.53  72.5  29.1  0   68  32  Present                                                                        Invention               19    "   CaO                                                                               6    "      5.55  67.4  27.3  0   63  37  Present                                                                        Invention               20    20  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   1    "      5.45  102.2 33.6  9   87   4  Present                                                                        Invention               21    "   "  2    "      5.43  110.8 35.0  0   90  10  Present                                                                        Invention               22    "   "  3    "      5.41  95.1  30.9  0   81  19  Present                                                                        Invention               23    "   "  4    "      5.37  93.0  28.2  0   74  26  Present                                                                        Invention               24    "   MgO                                                                               7    "      5.28  79.1  27.3  0   71  29  Present                                                                        Invention               25    "   CaO                                                                               6    "      5.30  73.5  26.2  0   67  33  Present                                                                        Invention               26    40  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   1    "      4.97  107.3 27.7  0   97   3  Present                                                                        Invention               27    "   "  2    "      4.96  121.3 26.8  0   93   7  Present                                                                        Invention               28    "   "  3    "      4.94  106.4 25.5  0   86  14  Present                                                                        Invention               29    "   "  4    "      4.92  104.1 24.5  0   81  19  Present                                                                        Invention               30    "   MgO                                                                               7    "      4.87  88.5  23.9  0   78  22  Present                                                                        Invention               31    "   CaO                                                                               6    "      4.88  82.2  23.4  0   75  25  Present                                                                        Invention               32    60  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   1    1,600  4.61  82.5  22.0  0   97   3  Present                                                                        Invention               33    "   "  2    "      4.59  75.0  21.8  0   94   6  Present                                                                        Invention               34    "   "  3    "      4.59  65.8  21.2  0   88  12  Present                                                                        Invention               35    "   "  4    "      4.58  64.4  20.9  0   84  16  Present                                                                        Invention               36    "   MgO                                                                               7    "      4.55  54.7  20.7  0   82  18  Present                                                                        Invention               37    "   CaO                                                                               6    "      4.55  50.8  20.6  0   79  21  Present                                                                        Invention               38    70  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   2    "      4.43  43.3  11.5  0   94   6  Comparison              __________________________________________________________________________      *disintegration                                                          

                  TABLE 3                                                          ______________________________________                                                      Specimen No.                                                                     6       15     21    27   33                                    ______________________________________                                         Amount of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 (wt %)                                                             3       10     20    40   60                                    Hardness       83.5    84.0   85.1  86.5 87.7                                  ______________________________________                                         Note:                                                                          Measurement of Physical Properties                                             (1) The flexural strength was measured according to JIS                        B4104-1970, and an average value of five specimens is                          indicated.                                                                     (2) The fracture toughness was measured according to                           ASTM Special Technical Publication No. 410; i.e., a                            specimen having a width of 4 mm, a thickness of 5 mm,                          and a length of 25 mm was provided with a notch having                         a depth of 0.5 mm and a width of 0.15 mm, and was                              measured by a three-point bending test with a span as                          20 mm. An average value of five specimens is indicated.                        (3) The hardness was measured by the use of a Rockwell                         Super Fischal hardness tester at a load of 45 kg.                              (4) The crystal system was analyzed by X-ray diffraction                       using Geiger Flex Model RAD-γA manufactured by Rigaku                    Denki Co., Ltd. In the first place, by X-ray diffraction                       of a specimen which had been mirror-polished with a 15μ                     diamond paste, the integrated strength Im of each of the                       (11-1) plane and the (111) plane of monoclinic ZrO.sub.2, the                  integrated strength It of the (111) plane of tetragonal                        ZrO.sub.2, and the integrated strength Ic of the (111) plane                   of cubic ZrO.sub.2 were measured, and the fraction of mono-                    clinic ZrO.sub.2 was determined by the ratio of Im/(Im + It + Ic).             Then the sintered body was ground until all particles                          could pass through a 325 mesh screen and the ground                            particles were analyzed by X-ray diffraction under the                         same conditions as above to measure the integrated                             strength I'm of monoclinic ZrO.sub.2 and the integrated                        strength I'c of cubic ZrO.sub.2. In this case, it is                           considered that the residual tetragonal ZrO.sub.2 in the                       sintered body is subjected to mechanical stress by the                         above-described pulverization and undergoes a transforma-                      tion into monoclinic ZrO.sub.2. Therefore, the fraction of                     cubic ZrO.sub.2 is determined by the ratio of I'c/(I'm + I'c)                  and then the fraction of tetragonal ZrO.sub.2 is determined.              

EXAMPLE 2

An aqueous solution of zirconium oxychloride and an aqueous solution of yttrium chloride were mixed, co-precipitated, and calcined at 800° C. to prepare a powder consisting of ZrO₂ and Y₂ O₃. The characteristics of the powder are shown in Table 4. To the co-precipitated powder was added Al₂ O₃ powder having a mean particle size of 0.1 μm and a purity of 99.9% in the proportions shown in Table 5. Using the powder, a sintered body was produced in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 5. The high temperature strength was measured in the same manner as in Example 1, and the results are shown in FIG. 2. It can be seen from the results that even when the co-precipitated ZrO₂ powder is used, the addition of Al₂ O₃ provides a great effect, as was the case in Example 1.

                  TABLE 4                                                          ______________________________________                                         Amount of Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                     2 mol %      3 mol %                                            Crystal System Tetragonal   Tetragonal                                         Specific Surface                                                                              32 m.sup.2 /g                                                                               34 m.sup.2 /g                                      Area                                                                           Chemical Analytical                                                            Values                                                                         ZrO.sub.2 (incl. HfO.sub.2)                                                                   95% (containing                                                                             93.7% (containing                                                 3 to 5% HfO.sub.2)                                                                          3 to 5% HfO.sub.2)                                 Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                               4.04%        5.30%                                              CaO            0.09%        0.06%                                              Na.sub.2 O     0.05%        0.05%                                              ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 5                                      __________________________________________________________________________     Composition                                                                              Stabilizer                         Crystal System of ZrO.sub.2                 for ZrO.sub.2                                                                           Sintering    Flexural     Mono-                                                                              Tetra-                        Specimen                                                                             Al.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                       Amount                                                                              Temperature                                                                           Density                                                                              Strength                                                                             K.sub.IC                                                                              clinic                                                                             gonal                                                                               Cubic                    No.   (wt %)                                                                             Type                                                                               (mol %)                                                                             (°C.)                                                                          (g/cm.sup.3)                                                                         (kg/mm.sup.2)                                                                        (kg/mm.sup.3/2)                                                                       (wt %)                                                                             (wt %)                                                                              (wt                                                                                Remarks              __________________________________________________________________________     101   20  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                    2    1,500  5.51  112.5 35.4   0   94   6   Present                                                                        Invention            102   "   "   3    "      5.48  96.7  31.2   0   87   13  Present                                                                        Invention            103   40  "   2    "      5.03  124.0 27.3   0   97   3   Present                                                                        Invention            104   "   "   3    "      5.01  108.1 25.9   0   90   10  Present                                                                        Invention            105   60  "   2    1,600  4.63  78.3  22.1   0   97   3   Present                                                                        Invention            106   "   "   3    "      4.62  70.1  21.5   0   91   9   Present                                                                        Invention            __________________________________________________________________________

EXAMPLE 3

To a monoclinic ZrO₂ having the characteristics shown in Table 1 above were added Y₂ O₃, CaO, or MgO as a stabilizer in the proportions shown in Table 6, and then fine particles of TiN having a mean particle size of 0.1 micron and a purity of 99.9% were added in proportions as shown in Table 6. The ingredients were then wet-mixed, and the resulting mixture was dried, powdered, press-molded, and sintered in an electric furnace in N₂ atmosphere at 1,400° to 1,650° C. for 1 hour. After sintering, the thus-obtained sintered body was cut and ground to form a specimen of 4×8×25 mm. In this way, a series of specimens were produced. The phase composition and properties obtained from these specimens are shown in Table 6. In all the specimens, the mean grain size was less than 3 microns. When the sintering temperature was increased to higher temperature than those shown in Table 6, the mean grain size was larger than 3 microns, and the strength was reduced.

As is shown clearly from Table 6, the addition of TiN inhibits the transformation from the tetragonal ZrO₂ to the monoclinic ZrO₂ and increases the fraction of the tetragonal ZrO₂, improving the strength and toughness of the resulting sintered body. The hardness and high temperature flexural strength of some specimens were also measured. The results are shown in Table 7 and FIG. 3. It can be seen from the results that the addition of TiN greatly increases the hardness and strength, and in particular, the high temperature strength is markedly improved compared with the comparative partially stabilized zirconia sintered body which is commercially available from Corning Corp., U.S.A. (Specimen No. R).

                                      TABLE 6                                      __________________________________________________________________________     Composition                                                                              Stabilizer                       Crystal System of ZrO.sub.2                   for ZrO.sub.2                                                                          Sintering    Flexural    Mono-                                                                              Tetra-                          Specimen                                                                             TiN    Amount                                                                              Temperature                                                                           Density                                                                              Strength                                                                             K.sub.IC                                                                             clinic                                                                             gonal                                                                              Cubic                       No.   (wt %)                                                                             Type                                                                              (mol %)                                                                             (°C.)                                                                          (g/cm.sup.3)                                                                         (kg/mm.sup.2)                                                                        (kg/mm.sup.3/2)                                                                      (wt %)                                                                             (wt %)                                                                             (wt %)                                                                             Remarks                 __________________________________________________________________________     T1    0.1 Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   4    1,600  5.74  33.4  10.8  27  38  35  Comparison              T2    0.5 "  "    "      5.83  67.0  29.5  10  57  33  Present                                                                        Invention               T3    1.5 "  "    "      5.86  68.8  33.8  6   63  31  Present                                                                        Invention               T4     3  "  1    1,400  *     --    --    96   0   4  Comparison              T5    "   "    1.5                                                                               "      5.79  33.9  19.3  44  47   9  Comparison              T6    "   "  2    1,500  6.01  91.1  45.3  7   82  11  Present                                                                        Invention               T7    "   "    2.5                                                                               "      5.99  87.1  42.4  5   76  19  Present                                                                        Invention               T8    "   "  3    1,600  5.97  79.9  41.5  4   73  23  Present                                                                        Invention               T9    "   "  4    "      5.91  78.2  38.7  2   64  34  Present                                                                        Invention               T10   "   "  6    "      5.79  42.4  16.1  0   25  75  Present                                                                        Invention               T11   "   "  8    "      5.70  29.6  15.3  0    0  100 Comparison              T12   "   MgO                                                                               7    1,500  5.78  66.5  37.1  4   59  37  Present                                                                        Invention               T13   "   CaO                                                                               6    "      5.80  61.8  35.2  5   53  42  Present                                                                        Invention               T14   10  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   1    "      *     --    --    97   0   3  Comparison              T15   "   "  2    "      5.95  94.4  43.2  6   85   9  Present                                                                        Invention               T16   "   "  3    "      5.91  82.8  40.7  3   76  21  Present                                                                        Invention               T17   "   "  4    "      5.86  81.0  39.1  1   70  29  Present                                                                        Invention               T18   "   MgO                                                                               7    "      5.74  68.9  38.7  0   69  31  Present                                                                        Invention               T19   "   CaO                                                                               6    "      5.76  64.1  37.6  0   65  35  Present                                                                        Invention               T20   20  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   1    "      5.91  97.1  41.4  9   88    3 Present                                                                        Invention               T21   "   "  2    "      5.89  105.3 41.1  5   87   8  Present                                                                        Invention               T22   "   "  3    "      5.85  90.5  39.7  0   81  19  Present                                                                        Invention               T23   "   "  4    "      5.81  88.4  37.7  0   73  27  Present                                                                        Invention               T24   "   MgO                                                                               7    "      5.71  75.1  36.8  0   70  30  Present                                                                        Invention               T25   "   CaO                                                                               6    "      5.72  69.8  35.8  0   66  34  Present                                                                        Invention               T26   40  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   1    "      5.71  101.4 37.8  0   98   2  Present                                                                        Invention               T27   "   -  2    "      5.69  115.3 36.9  0   94   6  Present                                                                        Invention               T28   "   "  3    "      5.67  101.2 35.5  0   87  13  Present                                                                        Invention               T29   "   "  4    "      5.64  98.9  33.9  0   80  20  Present                                                                        Invention               T30   "   MgO                                                                               7    "      5.56  84.1  33.7  0   79  21  Present                                                                        Invention               T31   "   CaO                                                                               6    "      5.57  78.2  32.4  0   74  26  Present                                                                        Invention               T32   60  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   1    1,600  5.59  78.4  29.7  0   98   2  Present                                                                        Invention               T33   "   "  2    "      5.58  72.3  28.3  0   93   7  Present                                                                        Invention               T34   "   "  3    "      5.56  62.9  27.1  0   89  11  Present                                                                        Invention               T35   "   "  4    "      5.54  62.3  25.6  0   85  15  Present                                                                        Invention               T36   "   MgO                                                                               7    "      5.49  52.1  23.7  0   81  19  Present                                                                        Invention               T37   "   CaO                                                                               6    "      5.50  49.5  22.9  0   80  20  Present                                                                        Invention               T38   70  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   2    "      5.52  41.1  13.2  0   94   6  Comparison              T39   "   MgO                                                                               7    "      5.46  39.6  12.6  0   84  16  Comparison              T40   "   CaO                                                                               6    "      5.47  38.4  10.8  0   79  21  Comparison              __________________________________________________________________________      *disintegration                                                          

                  TABLE 7                                                          ______________________________________                                                      Specimen No.                                                                   T6    T15    T21     T27  T33                                     ______________________________________                                         Amount of TiN (wt %)                                                                          3       10     20    40   60                                    Hardness       83.4    83.8   84.5  85.7 86.1                                  ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 4

An aqueous solution of zirconium oxychloride and an aqueous solution of yttrium chloride were mixed, co-precipitated, and calcined at 800° C. to prepare a powder consisting of ZrO₂ and Y₂ O₃. The characteristics of the powder are shown above in Table 4. To the co-precipitated powder was added TiN powder having a mean particle size of 0.1 μm and a purity of 99.9% in the proportions shown in Table 8. Using the powder, a sintered body was produced in the same manner as in Example 3. The results are shown in Table 8. The high temperature strength was measured in the same manner as in Example 1, and the results are shown in FIG. 4. It can be seen from the results that even when the co-precipitated ZrO₂ powder is used, the addition of TiN provides a great effect, as was the case with Example 3.

                                      TABLE 8                                      __________________________________________________________________________     Composition                                                                              Stabilizer                         Crystal System of ZrO.sub.2                 for ZrO.sub.2                                                                           Sintering    Flexural     Mono-                                                                              Tetra-                        Specimen                                                                             TiN     Amount                                                                              Temperature                                                                           Density                                                                              Strength                                                                             K.sub.IC                                                                              clinic                                                                             gonal                                                                               Cubic                    No.   (wt %)                                                                             Type                                                                               (mol %)                                                                             (°C.)                                                                          (g/cm.sup.3)                                                                         (kg/mm.sup.2)                                                                        (kg/mm.sup.3/2)                                                                       (wt %)                                                                             (wt %)                                                                              (wt                                                                                Remarks              __________________________________________________________________________     T101  20  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                    2    1,500  5.95  106.9 41.5   6   89    5  Present                                                                        Invention            T102  "   "   3    "      5.91  91.9  41.1   0   87   13  Present                                                                        Invention            T103  40  "   2    "      5.81  117.8 37.3   0   96    4  Present                                                                        Invention            T104  "   "   3    "      5.78  102.7 35.9   0   89   11  Present                                                                        Invention            T105  60  "   2    1,600  5.68  74.4  29.6   0   97    3  Present                                                                        Invention            T106  "   "   3    "      5.66  66.8  27.5   0   90   10  Present                                                                        Invention            __________________________________________________________________________

EXAMPLE 5

To a 1 mol% solution of zirconium oxychloride having a purity of 99.9% (wherein the ZrO₂ component contains 3 to 5% of HfO₂) were added yttrium chloride, magnesium chloride or calcium chloride as a stabilizer, all having a purity of 99.9%, and aluminum chloride having a purity of 99.9% so as to prepare a mixture having the composition shown in Table 9. They were uniformly mixed and then co-precipitated to obtain a hydroxide mixture. The hydroxide mixture thus prepared was dehydrated, dried, and calcined at 800° C. to obtain a starting powder having a mean particle size of 200 Å. The thus-obtained powder was press-molded at a pressure of 1.5 ton/cm², and sintered in an electric furnace in the air at 1,400° to 1,650° C. for 1 hour. After sintering, the resulting sintered body was cut and ground to provide a specimen of 4×8×25 mm. In this way, a series of sintered bodies were produced. In all of the sintered bodies, the mean grain size was less than 3 microns. However, when the sintering temperature was increased to higher temperatures than those shown in Table 9, the mean grain sizes of resulting sintered bodies were larger than 3 microns, resulting in a reduction in strength.

As shown clearly from Table 9, the co-precipitation of Al₂ O₃ inhibits the transformation from the tetragonal ZrO₂ to the monoclinic ZrO₂ and increases the fraction of the tetragonal ZrO₂, improving the strength and toughness. The hardness and high temperature flexural strength of some specimens were also measured. The results are shown in Table 10 and FIG. 5. It can be seen from the results that the hardness of the sintered body increased with increasing Al₂ O₃ content, for example, the hardness of the specimen No. P34 with 60% Al₂ O₃ content was almost equal to that of Al₂ O₃ ceramics, and that the high temperature strength markedly improved compared with the comparative partially stabilized zirconia sintered body commercially available from Corning Corp., U.S.A. (Specimen No. R).

                                      TABLE 9                                      __________________________________________________________________________     Composition                                                                              Stabilizer                       Crystal System of ZrO.sub.2                   for ZrO.sub.2                                                                          Sintering    Flexural    Mono-                                                                              Tetra-                          Specimen                                                                             Al.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                      Amount                                                                              Temperature                                                                           Density                                                                              Strength                                                                             K.sub.IC                                                                             clinic                                                                             gonal                                                                              Cubic                       No.   (wt %)                                                                             Type                                                                              (mol %)                                                                             (°C.)                                                                          (g/cm.sup.3)                                                                         (kg/mm.sup.2)                                                                        (kg/mm.sup.3/2)                                                                      (wt %)                                                                             (wt %)                                                                             (wt %)                                                                             Remarks                 __________________________________________________________________________     P1     0  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   4    1,600  6.04  60.7  18.9  8   57  35  Comparison              P2    0.1 "  4    "      6.04  63.5  20.1  3   63  34  Comparison              P3    0.5 "  4    "      6.02  81.1  22.6  1   65  34  Present                                                                        Invention               P4    1.5 "  4    "      5.99  83.3  23.8  0   67  33  Present                                                                        Invention               P5     3  "  1    1,400  *     --    --    96   0   4  Comparison              P6    "   "    1.5                                                                               "      5.91  41.1  18.1  41  52   7  Comparison              P7    "   "  2    1,500  6.00  110.3 47.1  4   85  11  Present                                                                        Invention               P8    "   "    2.5                                                                               "      5.99  105.5 39.7  3   79  18  Present                                                                        Invention               P9    "   "  3    "      5.97  96.7  31.7  1   76  23  Present                                                                        Invention               P10   "   "  4    1,600  5.95  94.6  25.0  0   68  32  Present                                                                        Invention               P11   "   "  6    "      5.88  51.3  15.8  0   26  74  Present                                                                        Invention               P12   "   "  8    "      5.76  35.7  13.7  0    0  100 Comparison              P13   "   MgO                                                                               7    1,500  5.78  80.5  22.1  2   63  35  Present                                                                        Invention               P14    3  CaO                                                                               6    "      5.81  74.8  20.0  3   57  40  Present                                                                        Invention               P15   10  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   1    "      *     --    --    97   0   3  Comparison              P16   "   "  2    "      5.79  117.3 41.5  2   89   9  Present                                                                        Invention               P17   "   "  3    "      5.76  102.9 34.8  1   80  19  Present                                                                        Invention               P18   "   "  4    1,600  5.74  100.7 32.1  0   73  27  Present                                                                        Invention               P19   "   MgO                                                                               7    1,500  5.56  85.6  31.1  0   71  29  Present                                                                        Invention               P20   "   CaO                                                                               6    "      5.58  79.5  29.2  0   67  33  Present                                                                        Invention               P21   20  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   1    "      5.52  120.6 36.6  5   93   2  Present                                                                        Invention               P22   "   "  2    "      5.51  130.7 38.2  0   95   5  Present                                                                        Invention               P23   "   "  3    "      5.49  112.2 33.7  0   89  11  Present                                                                        Invention               P24   "   "  4    1,600  5.48  109.7 30.7  0   78  22  Present                                                                        Invention               P25   "   MgO                                                                               7    1,500  5.31  93.3  29.8  0   75  25  Present                                                                        Invention               P26   "   CaO                                                                               6    "      5.33  86.7  28.6  0   71  29  Present                                                                        Invention               P27   40  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   1    "      5.03  134.1 31.0  0   98   2  Present                                                                        Invention               P28   "   "  2    "      5.03  151.6 30.1  0   96   4  Present                                                                        Invention               P29   "   "  3    "      5.02  133.0 28.6  0   93   7  Present                                                                        Invention               P30   "   "  4    1,600  5.01  130.1 27.4  0   86  14  Present                                                                        Invention               P31   "   MgO                                                                               7    1,500  4.89  110.6 26.8  0   81  19  Present                                                                        Invention               P32   "   CaO                                                                               6    "      4.90  102.8 26.2  0   79  21  Present                                                                        Invention               P33   60  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   1    1,600  4.63  98.9  24.2  0   100  0  Present                                                                        Invention               P34   "   "  2    "      4.63  90.2  23.9  0   98   2  Present                                                                        Invention               P35   "   "  3    "      4.62  78.9  23.3  0   94   6  Present                                                                        Invention               P36   "   "  4    "      4.62  77.3  23.1  0   89  11  Present                                                                        Invention               P37   "   MgO                                                                               7    "      4.57  65.6  22.8  0   85  15  Present                                                                        Invention               P38   "   CaO                                                                               6    "      4.58  61.0  22.7  0   81  19  Present                                                                        Invention               P39   70  Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                   2    "      4.45  49.8  12.7  0   98   2  Comparison              P40   "   MgO                                                                               7    "      4.39  48.0  11.5  0   86  14  Comparison              P41   "   CaO                                                                               6    "      4.40  46.6  10.2  0   83  17  Comparison              __________________________________________________________________________      *disintegration                                                          

                  TABLE 10                                                         ______________________________________                                                      Specimen No.                                                                   P7    P16    P22     P28  P34                                     ______________________________________                                         Amount of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 (wt %)                                                             3       10     20    40   60                                    Hardness       83.6    84.2   85.1  86.7 87.8                                  ______________________________________                                    

While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A high toughness sintered body consisting essentially of from 40 to 99.5% by weight Component A and from 0.5 to 60% by weight Component B, wherein the mean grain size of the sintered body is 3 microns or less, wherein:Component A is partially stabilized ZrO₂ which contains 1 to 6 mol% of Y₂ O₃, 7 mol% of MgO or 6 mol% of CaO as a stabilizer in which tetragonal and cubic ZrO₂ constitute at least 90% by weight thereof and the ratio of the tetragonal ZrO₂ to the cubic ZrO₂ is at least 1/3; and Component B is TiN, with impurities being 3% by weight or less of SiO₂, 0.5% by weight or less of Fe₂ O₃, and 0.5% by weight or less of TiO₂, provided that the total amount is 3% by weight or less.
 2. A sintered body as in claim 1, wherein the whole or part of the ZrO₂ is replaced by HfO₂.
 3. A sintered body as in claim 1, wherein the partially stabilized ZrO₂ and the stabilizer are prepared by co-precipitation.
 4. A sintered body as in claim 2, wherein the partially stabilized ZrO₂ and the HfO₂ which replaces part of the ZrO₂ or the HfO₂ which replaces the whole of the ZrO₂ and the stabilizer are prepared by co-precipitation. 